CANNES GRAND PRIX PRESS WINNER DISQUALIFIED

Leo Burnett Calls It 'Honest Mistake'; New Winner Chosen

CANNES (AdAge.com) -- A Portuguese bookstore ad campaign selected as the Grand Prix winner in the International Advertising Festival's Press category was disqualified this

morning after festival officials found it to have been "inappropriately entered."

The disqualified campaign was created by Publicis Groupe's Leo Burnett, Lisbon.

Awards ceremony tonight
Another ad, one of four that were hot contenders in the jury deliberations on Monday, was chosen as the new Grand Prix selection in the Press category but its identity will not be announced until the awards ceremony tonight.

The Portuguese campaign for a local bookstore called Ferin was ruled ineligible because no paid media was used, according to officials.

Dan Wieden
Dan Wieden, head of Wieden & Kennedy of Portland, Ore., who is serving as president of judging for this year's ad festival, said, "We looked into [the campaign] and it was inappropriately entered."

The ads were entered in both the print and outdoor category but won the Grand Prix for print.

In a statement issued this afternoon, Miguel Angel Furones, chief creative officer of Leo Burnett Worldwide, said the submission of the ad was the result of a "misunderstanding" and that the submission was "an honest mistake."

Client paid fee
Mr. Furones clarified that the campaign ran as outdoor, newspaper and point-of-sale ads, and although the client did pay a creative fee, all the media placements were donated.

He said he agreed with festival's decision, based on rules that require eligible campaigns to have appeared in paid media, and that he had "utter respect" for the actions of the jury.